Stock market today: Wall Street cruises toward the close of its best week in a year
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are coasting to the close of their best week in a year with some modest moves. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% early Friday and was on track for its biggest weekly gain since early November 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 83 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.1%. The relatively quiet trading follows big gains and more records for indexes earlier in the week after Donald Trump won the presidential election and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again to make things easier for the economy. Treasury yields also held steadier following big swings earlier in the week.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Trading on Wall Street was somewhat subdued early Friday as markets coasted toward another week of big gains.
Futures for the S&P 500 were essentially unchanged, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up less than 0.1%.
Airbnb tumbled 6.1% after the online vacation rental platform posted a mixed third-quarter earnings report and issued guidance for the fourth quarter that disappointed investors.
Digital pinboard and shopping site Pinterest slid 13.7% after the company’s revenue guidance came in lower than investors expected, even as it easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets.
Sports betting app DraftKings fell 4.6% after it lost more money than expected in its most recent quarter and lowered its forecast.
On the winning side was Upstart, which jumped more than 17% before the bell. The AI-driven lending platform, which helps banks analyze loan applications, posted a much smaller loss than expected on strong revenue.
Markets have been riding high this week, hitting more records after former President Donald Trump won re-election and the Federal Reserve cut its main lending rate for the second straight time.
The central bank began easing rates in September and indicated more cuts were likely to come, as it focuses more on keeping the job market humming after helping get inflation nearly down to its 2% target. What’s less certain in the minds of investors now is how much Trump’s victory may upset the Fed’s plans.
Trump is pushing for tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation higher, along with the economy’s growth. Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.
In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX and Paris’s CAC 40 each fell 0.6%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 retreated 0.5%.
Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell as investors awaited much-anticipated steps by Beijing to rev up the slowing Chinese economy following a meeting of the legislature’s Standing Committee.
“If Beijing delivers, we might see a powerful rally ripple through the region as investors gear up for a fresh surge in market momentum,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Officials announced a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion), three-year plan to help local governments refinance their many trillions of debt that has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse of the property market.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased early gains, falling 1.1% to 20,728.19. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5% to 3,452.30.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 39,500.37.
Shares in Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp. plummeted 6% on Friday after the company on Thursday announced that it will dismiss 9,000 workers and slash its global production capacity by 20% due to falling sales and rising costs and inventory.
In South Korea, the Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,561.15, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 8,295.10.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $1.22 to $71.14 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $1.06 to $74.57 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 152.49 Japanese yen from 152.94 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0768 from $1.0804.
For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 are both up around 4% as of Thursday’s close, while the Nasdaq has gained more than 5%.